“What do we have here?”
“Looks like someone tried to copy your powers and make a Champion of some sort.”
“I see and what do you think we should do with this one?”
“He is an innocent, however I would like to find the interloper, maybe send him on to his destination?”
“I agree, Young warrior take this part of myself, may it grow with your pure heart, and one day we will meet again.”
-
Nuada woke up from his nap on the stone floor, “Ah same dream again.”
Brushing his white hair from his face Nuada preceded to stretch out. He saw still in the 8 foot square room that had been his home since, that curse creature Luna had betrayed him. Across from the room by the hidden door that had trapped him there, her laughing silhouette sat laughing at him.
“Oy shadow, bugger off you know I can’t touch you, and you can’t hurt me, so shoo.” Nuada said shooing the shadow, which promptly slid under the crack of the door back into the castle. Nuada glared at the ward that had pulsed on the door for a millenia.
Timeless.
A special curse crafted by the Nightmare forces of old, it tied a creature’s life force to a place. While the caster lived the sealed room would preserve the contents, decay would be held back, and ageing was halted. The curse part was that living things would still note the passage of time, and as an immortal Nightmare Moon’s spell would continue until either she was killed or she dispelled it.
“So more image training.” Nuda said to himself, taking a seat Nuada pulled out a wooden sword hilt, the pommel carried three red spheres, and there was no blade. Using his will Nuada levitated the hilt in front of himself and began focusing.
-
Nuada was standing ins a large grass field. Before him stood a woman with teal hair.
“You’re back again?” she asked her kimono shifting in the breeze.
“Kinda stuck in a room.” Nuada stated, “you know this Ryoko, so more fighting?”
“Yeah yeah.” She said her previous clothes shifting to a skin tight red and black body glove, “you really need to get out of that little trap, can’t keep wasting your time in here.”
“I know that, but absolute rules on the trap.” Nuada stated pulling out a duplicate of the sword hilt from before, a blue energy blade emerging from it. The one known as Ryoko summoned an orange blade of pure energy and charged at Nuada, who deflected the blade and threw an elbow in her direction as she teleported away.
“Not bad, I think you’re as good as he was at when he met me,” She said laughing.
“Who are you talking about?” Nuada asked, leaping into the air with a sword slash.
“You’ll remember one day.” She said dodging over him and punching him, only for him to catch the fist and use it to spin out of the way and land a spinning kick in her back sending her to the ground.
The duo spent the next few hours clashing blades, parrying thrusts, and evading strikes.
“Well Nuada it’s been fun.” Ryoko said as they took a minute to rest, “but it’s time for me to go.”
“What it’s only noon, we spar far longer that this regularly.” Nuada said confused.
“Nuada I’m an imprint, a virtual life in this sword, designed to train you.” Ryoko said as the environment vanished leaving them in a black abyss, “We have spared for the last 1000 years now, almost to the date, you have grown much strong, your technique is strong, you know all the moves I have and then some. My time has come to an end.”
“Can’t we still hang out, I would go crazy if you left,” Nuada stated, “my sanity depends on you.”
“I’m sorry this goodbye is for a very long time,” Ryoko said a tear forming in her eyes, “besides I’m sure you’ll be out soon.”
“I’ll miss you Miss Ryoko.”
“Buck up kid, even the longest goodbyes don’t have to mean forever, I’ll see you around,” and with that the Virtual woman vanished leaving Nuada awake and in his cell.
“Goodbye ya old demon,” Nuada stated staring at the sword.
-
Three days later it happened
Nuada had gone to pure physical training in his cell, distraught with the loss of his one companion, he would cleave at the rune with his sword, only to have it deflected. As his last lights of hope started to dwindle he felt a shift. First he felt hungry, for the first time in a thousand years his stomach asked for food. Then he felt a pulse of energy and then the rune on the door went out. Finally he felt a presence in his mind, one that he missed for the last millennia, Kirito?
The presence was weak but Nuada knew his partner lived still alive. Using his beam sword Nuada cleaved threw the door holding him in, without the magic of the curse the stone was cut like butter. Collecting himself Nuada twisted his ring, his normal bland tunic and wrap pants, shifted to a more wood like battle armor and leather. Ascending the stairs Nuada cut through any door that was blocking his path. He didn’t care if it was Celestia and Luna’s castle he was out and his anger was growing again, and one of the sisters was in for a serious beating.
-
“Come now Luna,” Celestia said coaxing her sister to her new tower room.
“Is thou sure we should not be in the dungeons?” Luna asked following into the room.
“Luna I told you, you are forgiven,” Celestia stated, “now get in here I had this room made just for you.”
Luna nodded and entered the room slowly, looking around. Unlike Celestia’s room that she had seen earlier, this room had more blue and purple trimmings. The general style reminded her of her old room at the Castle of Two Sisters keeping to the old architecture, only a special balcony had been installed with a telescope on it.
“Sister it is beautiful,” Luna said examining everything, shelves lined with books, a few older weapons on walls, and the fluffy bed that she proceeded to jump onto causing the carefully made blankets to fluff out and become messy.
“I’m glad you like it,” the sun goddess answered giggling at her sister’s antics, “rest up we have an early start tomorrow.”
A knock came to the doorway, “Princesses excuse me.”
“What is it Captain Armor?” Celestia said as a stallion in guard armour walked in, his blue
mane contrasting his white fur.
“Your majesties scouts have reported a creature coming out of the everfree forest, flying roughly this direction,” the guard captain stated.
“What manner of creature?” Luna asked in her royal canterlot voice.
“Luna please volume down,” Celestia said holding a hoof to her ear, as Shining Armor tried to regain his composure.
“Sorry sister, we shall try,” Luna said embarrassed.
“Right the scouts described a hairless ape like creature covered in strange clothes that looked part wooden,”
“What?” Celestia ask using the canterlot voice for the first time in a hundred years. Shining Armor rolled back against the wall of the hallway. A second later a minor quake shook the castle. Celestia and Luna shared a look for a moment and rushed down to find the source, Shining Armor right behind them.
-
“Oy I demand to see your ruler!” Nuada yelled bannging on the ornate double doors of the castle. Behind him a group of guards lay knocked out.
“Come back tomorrow,” a shaky guard voice called out from behind the door.
“I will not,” Nuada hollered, “now open this door before I cut it down!”
As Nuada readied his sword he heard noise on the other side, listening in he heard someone say to open the door. Taking a step back Nuada watched the doors open. As the doors opened Nuada first saw the white alicorn princess, standing tall looking down on him from her slight height advantage. Nuada just glared back until he saw the billowy stary mane behind her, “LUNA!.”
“Hi Nuada,” Luna said waving from behind her sister.
“Don’t ‘Hi’ me you little brat!” Nuada hollered, charging right at her..
“Nuada calm yourself,” Celestia said as she caught him in her aura.
“Not until I have beaten that backstabber to my satisfaction!” black and blue sparks began arcing around Nuada’s held form and Celestia and to concentrate to keep him locked in place.
“Luna was cursed, Nuada she was not in control of her actions,” Celestia said panicked as her spell was beginning to crack.
“She seemed pretty in control when she locked me in that room,” Nuada said as the spell shattered.
In a blink he was before Luna a fist cocked high ready to strike. A blast to the side sent him sprawling into a wall. Shining armor stood defiantly in front of Luna glaring at Nuada.
“Calm yourself before we have to take you down,” he said as more guards formed up in a phalanx around Luna.
“Captain watch over my sister,” Celestia said as her aura took hold of Nuada again.
“What ar-” Nuada began flying thru the night sky with Celestia leading, at the top of Mt. Cantor they stopped.
“Let me go,” Nuada said straining against the spell.
*SLAP!!*
“The?” Nuada asked his cheek stinging.
“How dare you Nuada, how dare you do this, what has gotten into you.” Celestia asked tears forming as she began hugging him, “where have you been all this time?”
“I have been trapped in your old castle, in a secret room,” Nuada stated his body relaxing
Celestia looked at Nuada letting the spell fall, “What do you mean trapped in the castle?”
“Ask Luna about a spell called Timeless,” Nuada said his body tensing.
“I will, but can you forgive sister and come with me to the castle?” her eyes pleading with him.
“I can not forgive her, but it would be pointless to press the matter right now.” Nuada said.
“Please Nuada come home, we can work this out,” Celestia said a tear falling down her face.
Nuada looked away and shook his head before taking off towards the Everfree forest fast enough Rainbow Dash would be impressed.
-
“Princess was that really the First Captain?” Shining Armor asked as Celestia landed by the front doors where Luna and the guards were waiting.
“Yes it was Captain, but something seemed off about him,” Celestia said looking over to a large hole in the ground, it seems from when Nuada landed.
“The stories do paint him in a better light,” he said nodding to Celestia as guards Nuada had knocked out were checked by medics and taken to the infirmary. “Good news is that none of the guards were seriously hurt it seems, merely knocked out.”
“Nuada was the strongest warrior in Equestria one thousand years ago, but also the kindest, he refused to fight innocents, and would always seek to end the fight peacefully,” she said with a sigh.
“That wasn’t very peaceful,” Shining stated.
“Whe.. when Nuada was to fight his aim was to knockout his opponent, never ,” Luna said crying, “tis is all our fault.”
“Come we have much to discuss, I am sorry that we could not have a night to ourselves sister,” Celestia said leading them all inside after asking the guards to rope off the hole till it was fixed.
-
“He told you to ask about Timeless?” Luna asked her voice straining.
“Yes it’s a spell I am not familiar with,” Celestia stated holding Luna.
“That’s because it is a curse,” Luna explained, “a curse crafted by the First Nightmare.”
“First Nightmare?” Shining asked having never heard of it.
“When the world was young and ponies had yet to walk the world, other beings ruled. One of these creatures was referred to as the First Nightmare by Starswirl.” Celestia explained, “Starswirl thought that many forces from today could be traced back to these beings, such as the elements of harmony, and the nightmare forces. He only had limited information on them though as it was in a book brought to him from tartarus.”
“What?”
“That’s a story for another time. Please sister continue what is this curse?”
“Timeless is a spell that is placed around a container, it loops time in the area affected creating a seemingly frozen period of time. It’s base is similar to the preservation spells on the library in the old castle.” Luna explained quietly. “However this curse was cast by tying a portion of the life force of the caster to the area, meaning it would last as long as the caster lived.”
“This sounds as though Nuada shouldn’t be so mad, a time loop should have made the time pass without notice,” Celestia remarked thinking.
“This is where the curse part really shows. A living creature trapped in the spell would note the passage of time, they would live knowing they had been trapped. The curse stopping even death, the only result for a normal pony would be madness from isolation.” Luna stated, “Nightmare Moon wanted us to be rid of Nuada’s power over Light, knowing we could not fight him alone and win. We.. we,” Luna began sobbing.
“Luna, I’m so sorry,” Celestia said hugging her sister.
“Wait so if Nightmare Moon did this why is Nuada so mad at Luna?” Shining asked.
“Nuada was last seen a week prior to my conflict with Nightmare Moon,” Celestia said, “and I banished, her to the moon.”
“So Nuada was trapped for a thousand years thinking it twas I who betrayed him.”